13 Mar 1998: Forward Pete Sauer of the Stanford Cardinal in action during a game against the College of Charleston Courgars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Stanford defeated College of Charleston 67-5 less

13 Mar 1998: Forward Pete Sauer of the Stanford Cardinal in action during a game against the College of Charleston Courgars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. ... more

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

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Peter Sauer, Stanford forward in 1990s, dies

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Peter Sauer, whom a former teammate described as "the heart and soul" of the great Stanford basketball teams of the late 1990s, died Sunday night after collapsing during a recreational basketball game in White Plains, N.Y. He was 35.

He was playing at Gardella Park when he collapsed, according to White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong. Mr. Sauer was taken by ambulance to White Plains Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later, Chong said.

The cause of death is unknown pending the results of an autopsy.

Mr. Sauer, a 6-foot-7 forward, was part of Cardinal teams that played in four straight NCAA Tournaments, including the 1998 Final Four. He averaged 7.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in his career.

"Peter Sauer was one of the most popular players I have ever coached," said his head coach, Mike Montgomery, who is now at Cal. "He was the epitome of the definition of a student-athlete. He was smart; he was tough; he was a winner. ... Peter was somebody that his teammates really looked up to and admired.

"It is tragic that this can happen to a young man in the prime of his life. We are all very saddened with the news. This is very tough news to get. My heart goes out to his family during this difficult time."

Mr. Sauer is survived by his wife, Amanda; three daughters; his parents, Mark and Georgia Sauer; and his younger brother, Alex. Mark Sauer is the former president of the NHL's Blues and baseball's Pirates.

The news of Peter Sauer's death stunned his former teammates and the Stanford community.

"Peter was a great player," former Stanford forward Mark Madsen said. "In the locker room, he was liked by everyone. He had a fun personality. He cared about his teammates. When he needed to be tough, he could do that. When he needed to be supportive, he could do that, too."

Madsen, now a Stanford assistant coach, said Mr. Sauer was helping organize a get-together of former Cardinal basketball players in the fall.

"Out of all the guys in our class, he was the healthiest," former guard Kris Weems said. "He was doing triathlons, always working out, lifting and swimming. That's why it was such a shock."

Weems, now a Warriors assistant coach for player development, said, "He was a genuinely good guy. He had those leadership qualities that most coaches would love to have in a player. At the same time, you could have fun with him. He was always ready to compete, whether it was pingpong or touch football."

The high point of his career was a 1998 victory over Rhode Island in the Midwest Regional at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, the game that sent Stanford into the Final Four. Thanks to his father, then the president and CEO of the arena (now called the Scottrade Center) and the Blues, Mr. Sauer celebrated with Weems and point guard Arthur Lee in the hockey team's hot tub while smoking cigars.

"It was pretty hilarious," Weems said.

"For us to reach something as monumental as the Final Four was great," Lee said. "He was a wonderful teammate. He may have been well-off, but he was a regular guy. He could relate to anyone."

Mr. Sauer scored a career-high 19 points in a 93-80 win over No. 8 UCLA as the Cardinal started that season with an 18-game winning streak. The streak set a school record, although it was been surpassed twice since then.

Jason Collins, a freshman on that team who has played 11 years in the NBA, said, "Pete stands out as the best captain of a basketball team I've ever played with. He was the epitome of what a leader is, how they should act on and off the court."

In the 1996-97 season, the Cardinal upset Tim Duncan and Wake Forest 72-66 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mr. Sauer spearheaded that win with his clutch shooting down the stretch and hit the winning basket from the baseline in the closing seconds.

"Pete was the heart and soul of the teams I played on," former guard Mike McDonald said. "There were a lot of guys who leaned on him as a mentor.

"He was probably the toughest guy I've known in sports. We were playing a game in Hawaii, and he needed stitches on his hand. He came from the hospital right before the game and played wearing a huge bandage."

"Everyone in the Stanford community is deeply saddened by the passing of Peter Sauer," head coach Johnny Dawkins said, "He was a tremendous individual and a devoted husband and father. He was very passionate about Stanford and our basketball program."